Pallet-type brick package



March 3, 1953 E. REED PALLET-TYPE BRICK PACKAGE Filed Dec. 1, 1949 s 0 HKQMW Y a )v 3 m R l m. 0 z m I i a 6 IE I 1 1 I F. F F M m m 3 1 4 3 I un l m 1.. m g E I a||| F Patented Mar. 3, 1953 OFFICE PALLET-TYPE BRICKPACKAGE Eo Reed, Middletown, Ohio, assignor to Armco Steel Corporation,Middletown, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application December 1, 1949,Serial No. 130,512

4 Claims.

This invention has to do with a pallet-type brick package and moreparticularly to a package of brick which is inexpensive to provide andwhich makes for. great ease and convenience in handling of bricks,either by means of a crane or a lift truck or the like.

While the disclosure herein utilizes the term brick throughout it willbeunderstood that the invention is equally applicable to the packagingof other materials. As used in the claims therefore, it is to beunderstood the word brick is understood to mean a brick-like elementwhether it is made of concrete, wood, metal or any other material.

It is an object of the present invention to pro- Vide a simple packagewhich will be stable and secure and which may conveniently be handled bya lift truck,,as Well as by a crane with the use of slings. It isanother object of the invention to provide a package for bricks or thelike which can be given adequate protection from the weather, as well asfrom mechanical hazards normally encountered in handling and shipment.

These and other objects which will be disclosed in more detailhereinafter or which will suggest themselves to those skilled in the artupon reading these specifications I accomplish by that certainconstruction and arrangement of parts of which I shall now describe anexemplary embodiment.

Reference is made to the drawing forming a part hereof and in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a number of bricks arranged to provide apallet.

Figure 2 is a plan view of a first layer of bricks laid upon the palletof Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a plan view of a second layer of bricks laid upon the layerof Figure 2.

Figure el is an end elevational view of Figure 3 as seen from the bottomof the figure.

Figure 5 is a side elevational view of the same as seen from the righthand side of Figure 3.

Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 4 of the completed package.

Figure 7 is a view similar to Figure 5 of a completed package, and

Figure 8 is a detailed perspective view of a corner protecting element.

Briefly, the invention involves a number of layers of brick whereinadjacent layers have their individual bricks laid in break-jointrelation to each other and wherein the layers of brick are laid upon anumber of skid members which are preferably themselves brick. The entirepackage is banded together by means of steel bands or the like in adirection parallel to the 2 skid members to bind the skid members to thpackage, and the packageis further bound by other band memberstransverse to the first mentioned hand members but which do not embracethe skid members.

Referring now in more detailto the drawings, I have shown in Figure 1three rows of bricks lfl'laid end to end with the rows being spacedapart on center'approximately the length of a brick. It is to beunderstood that while I prefer to make the skid members of rowsof brickthey may equally well be channel iron, wooden two-byfours or the like.The use of brick is preferable because more brick per package areprovided and also the cost of skid members is eliminated.

In Figure 2 I have shown a first layer of brick laid upon the pallet ofFigure 1 wherein the individual bricks are laid transversely to those inthe pallet or skid and are laid side by side. The three rows of side byside bricks of Figure 2 are laid off center of the rows of bricks ofFigure 1 and since the rows of bricks of Figure 1 were spaced apartsubstantially the length of a brick the rows of bricks in Figure 2 willtouch each other. Alternate layers of bricks will be laid in the sameway as shown in Figure 2. Thus, if the package is to have six layers, asshown, the third and fifth layers will look like Figure 2.

In Figure 3 I have shown a layer of bricks which is to be laid upon thelayer of Figure 2. It will be observed that the bricks in Figure 3 arelaid in break joint relationship to the bricks in Figure 2 so that whenlayers are bound together the tightness of the banding and the frictionbetween the brick interfaces will maintain the package against relativeslipping.

It will be clear that if the second layer of bricks is laid as in Figure3 and the package is to have six layers the fourth and sixth layers willbe laid in the same Way as in Figure 3.

The package is completed by banding with a number of bands equal to thenumber of skids or pallets of Figure l encircling the skids and thevarious layers as indicated at H. These bands will secure the layers ofbrick and the pallets together in one direction. Additional bands I2disposed transversely to the first mentioned bands encircle the layersof brick but do not encircle the skid members, as best seen in Figure'7. If steel bands are used, it is advisable to provide protectivecorner pieces l3 as shown in detail in Figure 8 at each right angle bendof each band. These corner pieces protect the band from being cut by thebrick and they also protect the brick from being chipped by the band.

The specific package as illustrated will contain six layers of eighteenbricks per layer plus nine bricks in the form of skids for a total ofone hundred and seventeen bricks. With the individual bricks weighingsix pounds per brick the package as illustrated will weigh seven hundredand two pounds. It should be noted that the only expense to the packageis involved in the cost of the bands and the corner protecting pieces.The estimated material cost per package is about forty cents or .00342cent per brick.

While the details of the bands and corner pieces are not particularly alimitation upon the invention I have used with complete success metalbands of .035 inch thickness and 1% inches in width. For the cornerangle plates 24 gauge material with 2 inch arms has proved entirelysatisfactory.

It will be observed that the completed package can be handled verysimply by means of a crane using slings with the slings passing underthe package in the region indicated by the numerals I4 and that thepackage can be conveniently handled by means of a conventional lifttruck with the fork of the truck passing between the rows of bricks inthe area indicated at I5.

It will be clear that the package can be protected against the weatherby wrapping it completely in waterproof paper or the like. The tensionon the bands, together with the frictional resistance between the brickinterfaces make for a solid non-sagging package without the necessity ofother reinforcing members. Studies have indicated that the savings incosts in handling bricks in a package of the type illustrated, ratherthan one brick at a time by hand with a wheelbarrow is approximately2.75 man hours per thousand bricks.

From the foregoing it will be clear that I have provided a simple,inexpensive and eflicient brick package and while various modificationsmay be made without departing from the spirit of my invention, I do notintend to limit myself otherwise than as set forth in the claims whichfollow.

Having now fully described my invention what I claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Paten is:

l. A brick package comprising three parallel rows of bricks laid end toend, said rows being spaced apart on centers approximately the length ofa brick, a first layer of bricks comprising three rows of bricks laidside by side, the rows in said first layer bein substantially centeredupon said first mentioned rows, 2. second layer of bricks wherein theindividual bricks are laid in break joint relation with respect to thebricks in said first layer, other layers of bricks wherein theindividual bricks are laid alternately as in the first and secondlayers, three bands encircling said package substantially on centers ofsaid rows, and a number of bands disposed transversely to said threebands and encircling said package except for said first mentioned rows.

2. A brick package according to claim 1, wherein there are six layers ofbricks, the third and fifth layers having the bricks disposed as in thefirst layer, and the fourth and sixth layers having the bricks disposedas in the second layer.

3. A brick package according to claim 1, wherein each of said rowscontains three bricks end to end and the first layer contains six bricksper row laid side by side.

4. A brick ackage according to claim 1, wherein each of said rowscontains three bricks end to end and the first layer contains six bricksper row laid side by side, and there are six layers of bricks, the thirdand fifth layers each containing eighteen bricks disposed as in thefirst layer, and the fourth and sixth layers each containing eighteenbricks disposed as in the second layer.

E0 REED.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,922,560 Sullivan Aug. 15, 19332,004,626 Hann June 11, 1935 2,005,117 Tamplin June 18, 1935 2,489,054Sprolle Nov. 22, 1949 2,496,984 Clark Feb. 7, 1950

